Our money in the Canada Pension Plan
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) manages the retirement savings of over 22 million hardworking Canadians in one of the largest investment funds in the world – the Canada Pension Plan. But rather than using that huge financial power to lead the transition away from fossil fuels that scientists and world leaders agree is essential – CPPIB continues to invest in fossil fuel expansion.
The $647 billion in the Canada Pension Plan is our money. The investment board owes all of us a duty to maximize our returns over the long-term without undue risk of loss. Fossil fuel expansion simply cannot be a responsible investment, with the high risk of assets becoming stranded as the global economy moves away from fossil fuels. The science is clear that avoiding catastrophic climate outcomes requires an immediate end to fossil fuel expansion and rapid-phase out of oil, gas and coal. CPPIB must stop gambling with our money – and our futures.
Tell the Canada Pension Plan:
Stop gambling our hard-earned retirement savings on fossil fuels
On Thursday, November 21st, Canadians have our final opportunity to engage with CPPIB in a virtual public meeting. Submit hard-hitting questions on why CPPIB is gambling our hard-earned retirement savings on fossil fuel expansion. And you can register to join the virtual meeting and hold CPPIB executives to account.
Hollow words: CPPIB’s commitment to net-zero by 2050
In 2022, CPPIB committed to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. In recent years CPPIB has dramatically increased its investments in climate solutions, including investing billions of dollars in renewable energy, electric vehicles, sustainable buildings and other clean technologies.
But at the same time, CPPIB has continued to invest billions of our retirement dollars in fossil fuel infrastructure and the companies fueling the climate crisis – with no intention to stop.
Shift estimates that as of September 30, 2023, CPPIB has up to $64 billion – of our money – invested in fossil fuels. And in 2024 alone, CPPIB made five new investments in fossil fuels, including:
marking Earth Day with a $405 million investment in fracking expansion in Ohio;
spending $1.2 billion to buy 16,000 km of oil and gas pipelines in the U.S. Midwest;
becoming the private co-owner of California’s largest oil and gas producer;
spending $1 billion to increase Alberta’s fossil fuel production to feed the province’s petrochemical industry; and
in September, a CPPIB-owned company extended the piping of fracked gas from the Peruvian Amazon for another ten years until at least 2044.
How are any of these investments aligned with net-zero by 2050?
CPPIB’s board of directors also has a potential conflict of interest problem: three of the 11 current CPPIB Board of Directors are executives or corporate directors of fossil fuel companies. How can a CPPIB director be legally responsible for investing in our best-long term interests at the same time that they are legally responsible for advancing the financial interests of companies profiting from fossil fuels? No wonder CPPIB has repeatedly stated that it is opposed to “blanket” fossil fuel divestment.
Down from their ivory towers
Over the last few weeks, Canadians have had a rare and important window to engage with CPPIB in cities across Canada – see our key takeaways here. CPPIB is legally required to arrange these meetings once every two years – and this is the only opportunity for direct engagement for the Canadians whose retirement savings CPPIB is entrusted to invest.
The final meeting is being held virtually on Thursday November 21st. This is a crucial chance to question CPPIB executives on their track record of fossil fuel investments that worsen the climate crisis – which we are all feeling the impacts of. If we can demonstrate to CPPIB leaders the depth of public support to phase out fossil fuels and invest in climate solutions, we can help protect our retirement security in a healthy, livable future.
Ask the tough questions
Now is your chance to question CPPIB executives on their continued support of fossil fuel expansion in the midst of the worsening climate crisis. We’ve created a briefing here with hard-hitting questions to ask CPPIB leadership. You can use our easy one-click tool to submit questions – asking why CPPIB is gambling more and more of our hard-earned retirement savings on fossil fuel expansion.
Show up and be counted
This is a critical opportunity for Canadians to join the virtual public meeting with CPPIB executives and build pressure on them to stop investing our national pension fund in fossil fuel expansion and instead use our savings to invest in climate solutions. Join the virtual meeting and hold CPPIB executives to account.
Tell your friends!
If enough of us ask questions and turn up to hold CPPIB to account, we can demonstrate to CPPIB executives the depth of public support to phase out fossil fuels and invest in climate solutions. But in order for our voices to be heard, we have to spread the word about these public meetings with everyone we know. Share with your friends and family and networks now!
For more information on CPPIB’s approach to climate risk and investments in fossil fuels, see Shift’s detailed climate analysis of CPPIB.
We also produce a quarterly report on the activities of CPPIB’s fossil fuel investments - you can read the latest edition of CPPIB Watch here.